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My Ten Most Disappointing Reads

As I've read more books, I've generally gotten better at telling whether I'm going to like a book before I read it. Sometimes, though, books trick me - I look at them, think I'm going to love them, and then I don't. That really annoys me, but it makes for good post material - basically, this whole post is going to be me venting about books I really wanted to love.

THE WINNER'S CURSE by Marie Rutkoski: I heard so many great things about this series - I still do - and I just don't get it. I read the first book, and I didn't care about anything that was going on, and at this point, there's no way that I'm finishing the series.

DASH & LILY'S BOOK OF DARES by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan: I couldn't even finish this one, and you guys know how rarely I DNF books. I thought this was going to be a really cute holiday story, and I've really liked other David Levithan books, but by the time I was just a few chapters in I was absolutely disgusted by the characters and there were just so many things that gave me icky feelings.

EMMA by Jane Austen: I had to start this book three separate times in order to finally get through it. I wouldn't have bothered, except that I really like every other Jane Austen book I've read, so I just couldn't bring myself to DNF this one. I really should have. It was just so long, and so slow, and so repetitive, and there wasn't anything to keep me interested until the very end!

INFINITE IN BETWEEN by Carolyn Mackler: To be fair, my expectations for this book were pretty high. But also to be fair, it didn't really deliver on anything. The book is about five teenagers going through high school - the book starts at orientation and ends at graduation. I read this the week before I finished high school, so I was prepared to be super-emotional over it. Instead, I felt nothing. Nothing at all.

JUST ONE DAY by Gayle Forman: I definitely have an unpopular opinion with this one. I'm not even really sure what made me so indifferent about these books. It's not like I've disliked other things that Gayle Forman has written - WHERE SHE WENT is one of my favorite books. This duology just didn't do anything for me.

THE DARK DAYS CLUB by Alison Goodman: Another book that I DNFed. I thought that this one showed promise, but it just dragged so much that I just couldn't force myself through the last couple of hundred pages. Also, the love interest really creeped me out. I didn't stick around with the book long enough to see whether there was some big reveal about him, but also, I didn't really care enough to find out.

ROYALLY LOST by Angie Stanton: I really disliked this book. Literally the only thing it had going for it was that it made me laugh a couple of times. Other than that...the characters were annoying and immature, the plot was way too unrealistic, and the writing really wasn't that great.

ULTRAVIOLET by R.J. Anderson: Considering that I just talked about this a couple of weeks ago in my Ten Books I Wish Made More Sense post, you can probably guess why this book was such a disappointment. I was loving it for such a long time! And then...something happened, and it was all downhill from there.

ATTACHMENTS by Rainbow Rowell: This was really weird for me. I didn't have any strong negative feelings about the book as a whole, but there were enough small things that really bothered me that I just couldn't like it. It's the only Rainbow Rowell book I've given fewer than four stars to, which made it extra weird.

WINTERSPELL by Claire Legrand: I still get upset when I think abotu what could have been with this book. I love the Nutcracker, and when I saw an upcoming retelling it immediately went to the top of my most-anticipated list. And then I actually got my hands on the book, and...no. Just no. For so many reasons.

What are some books that have disappointed you? Do we have any of the same unpopular opinions? Tell me in the comments!

Comments

  1. I liked Attachments but didn't love it. I think since most of it is told in emails I just didn't get attached to the characters for way to long into the book and then the whole conflict part was just kind of icky. I'm not an Emma fan either. She just annoyed me so much I didn't want to read it anymore!

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    1. I agree! We got to know Lincoln more quickly since there were actually chapters from his perspective, but I didn't like him, so that didn't help. As for Emma, I've seen a lot of other people who don't like it say that it's because they didn't like Emma (the character), but I was just REALLY frustrated with the book as a whole.

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  2. Ooh, I didn't like Royally Lost, either. But I love The Winner's Curse, Just One Day, and Emma, so I'm sad you didn't like those so much. (Although I don't like Just One Year as much.)

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    1. I know I'm absolutely in the minority about The Winner's Curse and Just One Day! For both of those, I just finished reading with the feeling that I'd missed something. I guess they just weren't for me. I'm sad I didn't like Emma, too! I've really liked every other Jane Austen book I've read, but that one just didn't do anything for me.

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  3. Hi! Oh noooo...not Emma! :) I was on the fence about adding Attachments to my TBR.
    My TTT
    Leslie

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    1. I'm really disappointed that I didn't like Emma, too! As for Attachments, I know people who've loved it, and I can understand why. It just didn't work for me.

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  4. I only ever read The Winner's Curse of all the books in your list and I love it hahaha but I must say it's a *really* hit or miss books, you either love it or you don't and there's no in between hahaha I haven't read Attachment but I generally have unpopular opinion when it comes to Rainbow Rowell ��

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    1. I've only run across people who've loved The Winner's Curse! It's good to know I'm not the only one. As for Rainbow Rowell, I know I don't love her books as much as a bunch of other people seem to, but Attachments was the first of her books that I didn't even like.

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  5. I haven't read Attachments yet, but I'm curious to see how I feel about it. I'm definitely planning to read The Winner's Curse, though. Hope I like it better than you did! :-)

    Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction

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    1. I hope you like both of them! I'm pretty sure I have the minority opinion for both, so I think your chances are good.

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  6. Once you get through the beginning of The Darkest Days Club it really takes off! :)

    Lauren @ Always Me

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    1. I got through almost 300 pages of The Dark Days Club! I just lost interest in where the book was going.

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  7. I'm the sane with Winterspell! I was sure I'd love that because I adore retellings and it has the most beautiful cover and interesting premise!! Buuuuut. Yeah no.😂 At all. But at least it's pretty haha. And omg I didn't like Dash and Lily either. Such a disappointment. I was also SURE I was going to absolutely adore Ember in the Ashes because it sounds like a really Cait-book...but nope.😂

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    1. Winterspell's cover is the best thing about it. And I'm so glad I'm not alone in disliking Dash & Lily! I've heard so many great things about it and sometimes I even wonder whether I read the same book. I liked An Ember in the Ashes, but I've heard that it's pretty hit-or-miss.

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  8. I haven't read Attachments but all the Rainbow Rowell novels I've read so far have struck me as extremely underwhelming. I don't understand the hype myself. And I know that the writing itself isn't awful or anything, I just can't really get into it, I guess. Perhaps it's because the storylines are usually far too character-driven for my tastes.


    ‪As promised on Twitter, I'm hopping from blog to blog to leave these behind: 🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻‬

    ‪Shealea @ That Bookshelf Bitch

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    1. I've been pretty underwhelmed by all of Rainbow Rowell's books, too - Attachments was just the first one that I didn't even like. I get why other people like them, but I don't get the overwhelming hype, either.

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